President Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday that the United States will send more advanced missile systems to Ukraine. to attack what he said were “key targets” of the invading Russian forces.
“We will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced ammunition and missile systems that will They will allow you to attack more accurately. key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Biden wrote in The New York Times, without specifying the type of systems in question.
However, a senior US official confirmed that the North American country will send Himars missile systems (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), which are multiple rocket launchers mounted on light armored vehicles.
The Himars use precision-guided munitions with a range of 80 kmThe official said on condition of anonymity. Washington decided not to send ammunition with a longer range. “The Ukrainians will use these systems to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used against (the territory of) Russia,” the official said.
This team is part of a new, larger component of the US military assistance to Ukraine, for a total of 700 million dollars, the details of which will be released on Wednesday.
At a time when Ukraine is facing a very intense Russian offensive in the east of the country, Biden assured in his NYT column that “will not put pressure on the Ukrainian governmenteither in private or in public, to make territorial concessions”.
Russian forces have a stated goal of controlling the Donbas mining basin, of which pro-Russian separatist forces took partial control in 2014.
Ukrainian local authorities reported Tuesday that the Russian army controls “most” of Severodonetskthe last major city in the Luhansk region that is not under Moscow’s command.
“The Russian army’s attacks, including indiscriminate aerial bombardment, are simply absolute madness,” Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky denounced in a video broadcast by Telegram.
Regarding sanctions on Russia, the leaders of the European Union agreed on Monday ban more than two-thirds of Russian oil importsor, the toughest measure taken by the bloc so far in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
But in a waiver to please landlocked Hungary led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is well-connected with the Kremlin, the deal includes a “temporary waiver” for Russian crude transported by pipeline.